Leadership and Business Growth

This past week, I re-engaged with something deeply personal—working the 12 Steps with a new sponsor. 

And I started with Step 1:

“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.”

Now, don’t get it twisted. Step 1 isn’t about giving up.

It’s about giving in—to truth.

It’s the recognition that willpower, grit, and hustle—while powerful—can’t solve every problem. Especially when the problem is you.

That’s a lesson leaders tend to resist. 

We’re wired to take charge. Fix things. Muscle through. 

But there’s a darker side to that wiring: control.

And when you cling too tightly, you don’t just grip the wheel—you white-knuckle your way into burnout, poor decisions, and a disconnected team.

Step 1 taught me this: Surrender isn’t weakness—it’s the starting point of strength.

Great leadership requires humility.

It requires saying, “This isn’t working.”

It requires space for feedback, honest inventory, and realignment.

So this week, I’m challenging you to take inventory.

• What’s become unmanageable in your life or business?
• Where are you muscling through when you should be stepping back?
• What would it look like to surrender the illusion of control—so you can finally lead with clarity, curiosity, and compassion?

Leaders go first. And sometimes, the first step is stepping aside from ego.

There’s power in powerlessness—if you’re brave enough to admit it.

There are two types of people in every organization:

• Problem Communicators
• Problem Solvers

Problem communicators show up with drama. They spotlight what’s broken. They sound smart doing it and even mean well most of the time.

But they stop short of value.

The other?

Real leaders don’t just raise the red flag—they raise solutions.

Early in my journey, I made this mistake. I thought calling out issues made me proactive—until my first mentor, Eric, set me straight:

“Bryce, leaders don’t get paid to point at problems. They get paid to solve them.”

Since then, I’ve lived by this rule:

Never bring a problem without at least 2-3 proposed solutions.

Now, I train my team the same way.

Whenever someone escalates something, I respond with:

“Cool. What are your top 2-3 solutions to fix it?”

That’s how you create a solution-minded culture.

One where ownership replaces blame.

Where thinking replaces complaining.

Where action replaces excuses.

Leadership isn’t about describing the fire.

It’s about grabbing the hose.

So here’s your move this week:

🔹 Don’t just communicate—contribute.

🔹 Don’t just diagnose—deliver.

🔹 Don’t just point—solve.

Because talk is cheap.

But solutions?

Those drive results, command respect, and build legacies.

“E aí! Beleza?”

That’s how I greeted the flight attendant as I boarded my flight to Portugal with my brother Barrett.

She paused, then asked in Portuguese, “Are you Brazilian?”

I smiled and replied—in Brazilian Portuguese—“Nope, I’m American.”

She raised an eyebrow.

I added, “But I lived in Brazil for two years.”

“Ahhh,” she said, “that explains it. You sound Brazilian.”

Now, on the surface, that was a compliment.

But underneath?

It was a masterclass in leadership.

Here’s the Lesson: Your environment shapes your identity faster than you think.

With one sentence, she picked up that I wasn’t from Portugal.

Why?

Because Brazilians and Portuguese speak the same language, but they sound totally different.

Same words. Different cadence. Different energy. Different culture.

It’s just like how American English doesn’t sound like Scottish English.

(Side note: Brazilian sounds much prettier.)

I digress, but here’s the deeper insight:

Language, leadership, confidence—none of it comes from what you know.

It comes from what you absorb.

From whom you around.

From what you hear on repeat.

From what you see modeled every day.

When I lived in Brazil, I didn’t learn the language in a classroom.

I learned it in conversations. At dinner tables. On the street. Through repetition.

Repetition creates rhythm. Rhythm creates identity.

And that’s exactly how leadership works.

If you want to…

• Think bigger → hang out with visionaries
• Get stronger → train with the fit
• Lead deeper → surround yourself with leaders
• Build wealth → break bread with those who’ve built it

You will repeat your environment.

That’s the rule. And there are no exceptions.

Because like water shaping rock…

Your environment will shape you—whether you know it or not.

So your challenge is simple:

Audit your environment.

Then choose to upgrade it.

Because if you want next-level leadership…

You need a next-level circle.

Let’s get after it.

-Coach Bryce

Last week, a good friend and teammate shot me a message:

“Bryce, you’re the king of visibility. Thank you, I really appreciate it.”

It was kind and appreciated.

But let me be clear—visibility isn’t about ego.

It’s about leadership.

Yes, my team probably cringes at how much I communicate at times.

But I’d rather overcommunicate and annoy than under-communicate and crash into an iceberg no one saw coming.

Here’s the metaphor I live by:

I’m the captain of our ship. 

I stand up top with binoculars, scanning the horizon. 

My team works hard below deck, moving us forward. 

It’s my job to communicate what’s coming early and often.

Not because I need the spotlight.

Because without visibility, teams drift. 

Frustration festers. 

And eventually, ships sink.

So here’s your leadership lesson:

We don’t live in a perfect world. 

There is no “perfect” amount of communication. 

It’s always too much or too little.

When in doubt:

Lean in. 

Communicate what’s happening.

Share the vision.

You might annoy a few people in the moment.

But they’ll thank you when they see the shore.

Today is your reminder to be the King/Queen of visibility to your team!

I just returned from two back-to-back trips:

✔️ Co-leading our Fit Body Mastermind Workshop in Boston

✔️ Then a 7-day adventure to the Azores in Portugal

There were plenty of highlight-reel moments—those wins we love to celebrate. But I want to pull back the curtain and share the “unglamorous” part of it that no one shares on Instagram.

• No gym
• Red-eye flights
• Spotty internet
• A cold, damp Airbnb
• Stray cats galore
• Relentless rain

Sounds glamorous, right?

But here’s the leadership truth:

Travel like this forces you to lead yourself.

It removes comfort.

It demands adaptability.

It trains resilience.

That’s the lesson.

Leadership isn’t forged in the perfect environment. It’s sharpened in the mess.

In the unpredictable.

In the uncomfortable.

And just like business, if you’re only “in it” when conditions are ideal, you’ll break under pressure.

So I use travel as a tool.

Not for rest.

For resilience.

As Anthony Bourdain once said:

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

So here’s your leadership lesson and challenge today:

Where can you stretch yourself this week?

That discomfort you’re avoiding.

That’s where the growth is.

Let’s lean in.

In life—and in leadership—it’s not the strongest that thrive.

It’s the most adaptable.

Darwin proved it. Life tests it. And leadership demands it.

Which brings me to Pope Leo’s 4th leadership lesson, given that he modeled this life approach. 

His story isn’t just global—it’s gritty.

He spent his first 30 years in North America. Then invested the next few decades across South America and Europe.

That’s not tourism. That’s transformation.

Because leadership isn’t just about tools and tactics—it’s about perspective.

And perspective is earned through discomfort.

Through fumbling in a foreign language. Through navigating customs, cultures, and conversations that stretch your understanding of the world—and yourself.

You see, the same leadership challenge can carry multiple truths, depending on the lens you use. Travel sharpens that lens.

It humbles you and builds confidence. 

A dichotomy?  

Absolutely!

But it’s also a prescription.

That’s why I challenge myself to explore a new culture or country every year. Not for the passport stamp. 

For the perspective.

Is it uncomfortable? Yes.

Is it worth it? Always.

Because discomfort develops your leadership muscles.

It teaches adaptability. Builds resilience. Fuels creativity.

Lesson #4 from Pope Leo is this:

Get uncomfortable on purpose.

Put yourself in new environments.

Challenge your perspective.

Lead with more humility, strength, and vision.

The world is the ultimate leadership classroom—if you’re willing to sit in the front row.

Let’s talk about the power of curiosity—and how it creates connection.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, speaks five languages fluently.

That’s right—five.

Meanwhile, some days I struggle with just English. (Kidding… mostly.)

But jokes aside, there’s a leadership lesson here.

Yes, language is a practical tool. With English and Spanish, Pope Leo can speak to the masses. With Italian, he connects deeply with the Vatican.

But beyond utility? It signals something far more powerful: curiosity and care.

This hit home for me while living in Brazil and throughout my world travels. Even saying just one phrase in someone’s native language, like “thank you,” can light them up.

Brazilians & Filipinos lose their mind! 🙂

Why? Because it shows effort. It shows you’re curious. It shows you care.

It reminds me of a classic Zig Ziglar quote:

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

That’s what curiosity does—it creates influence.

So here’s today’s challenge:

Take the trip.

Get uncomfortable.

Learn “thank you” in five new languages.

Use it. Often.

Do that, and like Pope Leo, you won’t just connect. You’ll lead.

I am here today with the 2nd Leadership lesson from the first American Pope Leo XIV, which is:

Lead with Empathy vs. the Ivory Tower.

This is a dichotomy of leadership. 

As a leader, you have to be on top and in front, casting vision and leading your people far into the horizon. 

While that’s true and at the same time.

You must get in the trenches to build relationships, connect with, and listen to your people’s feedback and needs. 

Pope Leo XIV has lived his life in this manner.

He has plenty of leadership training in his first 3 decades of life in the States. However, in his early 30’s, he went off on a mission and lived in both Peru and Italy for decades.

In fact, the people of Peru claim them to be their own, which is a testament to their connection and his impact. 

Today’s lesson:

Connect with your team on a human and personal level.

You have to have a big vision as a leader! 

Just never forget to lead with empathy and get down from your ivory tower to be present in the service of your people.

I’m still in amazement of the first American Pope. 

In fact, I just recorded a podcast episode with a little more backstory to put some context on my amazement. 

In the episode, which is pending release.

I delivered 5 lessons Ive learned from Pope Leo XIV, who is now the spiritual leader for 1.4+ billion catholics on the planet.

Looking ahead, I will break them apart for our weekly lessons.

For today’s first lesson?

1. Leaders are trailblazers. They break the mold into uncharted territory.

By definition, leaders lead.

To provide another example that happened 71 years ago, when Roger Banister broke the 4-minute mile. Up until that point, it was deemed impossible for the human body to run at that pace.

Well, it was impossible until May 6, 1954, when Banister did it. 

The wild part?

Within 24 months, another 5 people accomplished the same feat. 

Given the nature and rarity of the papacy, no one knows if there will be another American Pope.

However, one thing is for certain: I had believed there never would be one, along with many American-based Catholics.

This was reinforced in my youth by my grandma, a devout Catholic, and the priests at the church where I served as an altar boy 30 years ago.

Well, it was impossible until May 8, 2025 when we watched Pope XIV, born and raised in Chicago, get anointed.

Given his impressive accomplishments, it seams to be well deserved. In hindsight, maybe not that big of a surprise.

Just remember: Leaders are trailblazers. They break the mold into uncharted territory.